Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, Iowa-class: USS Iowa (BB-61), USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Missouri (BB-63), and USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

Iowa-class battleships USS Iowa (BB-61), USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Missouri (BB-63), and USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

The Iowa class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They were initially intended to intercept fast capital ships such as the Japanese Kongō-class battlecruiser and serve as the "fast wing" of the U.S. battleline. The Iowa class was designed to meet the Second London Naval Treaty's "escalator clause" limit of 45,000-long-ton (45,700 t) standard displacement. Beginning in August 1942, four vessels, Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin, were completed; two more, Illinois and Kentucky, were laid down but canceled in 1945 and 1958, respectively, before completion, and both hulls were scrapped in 1958–1959.

The four Iowa-class ships were the last battleships commissioned in the U.S. Navy. All older U.S. battleships were decommissioned by 1947 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) by 1963. Between the mid-1940s and the early 1990s, the Iowa-class battleships fought in four major U.S. wars. In the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, they served primarily as fast escorts for Essex-class aircraft carriers of the Fast Carrier Task Force and also shelled Japanese positions. During the Korean War, the battleships provided naval gunfire support (NGFS) for United Nations forces, and in 1968, New Jersey shelled Viet Cong and Vietnam People's Army forces in the Vietnam War. All four were reactivated and modernized at the direction of the United States Congress in 1981, and armed with missiles during the 1980s, as part of the 600-ship Navy initiative. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Missouri and Wisconsin fired missiles and 16-inch (406 mm) guns at Iraqi targets.

Costly to maintain, the battleships were decommissioned during the post-Cold War drawdown in the early 1990s. All four were initially removed from the Naval Vessel Register, but the United States Congress compelled the Navy to reinstatetwo of them on the grounds that existing shore bombardment capability would beinadequate for amphibious operations. This resulted in a lengthy debate over whether battleships should have a role in the modern navy. Ultimately, all four ships were stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and released for donation to non-profit organizations. With the transfer of Iowa in 2012, all four are museum ships part of non-profit maritime museums across the US. (Wikipedia)

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USS Iowa (BB-61) c1944, in a Measure 32 pattern. The photo shows an open bridge on the 04 level.

USS Iowa (BB-61) is a retired battleship,the lead ship of her class, and the fourth in the United States Navy to benamed after the state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the Montana-classbattleships, Iowa is the last lead ship of any class of United Statesbattleships and was the only ship of her class to serve in the Atlantic Oceanduring the Second World War.

During the Second World War, she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt acrossthe Atlantic to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, en route to a conference of vitalimportance in 1943 in Tehran with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of theUnited Kingdom and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. When transferredto the Pacific Fleet in 1944, Iowa shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetokin advance of Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriersoperating in the Marshall Islands. She also served as the Third Fleet flagship,flying Admiral William F. Halsey's flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

During the Korean War, Iowa was involved in raids on the North Korean coast,after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets,better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated in 1984 aspart of the 600-ship Navy plan and operated in both the Atlantic and PacificFleets to counter the recently expanded Soviet Navy. In April 1989, anexplosion of undetermined origin wrecked her No. 2 gun turret, killing 47sailors.

Iowa was decommissioned for the last time in October 1990 after 19 total yearsof active service, and was initially stricken from the Naval Vessel Register(NVR) in 1995, before being reinstated from 1999 to 2006 to comply with federallaws that required retention and maintenance of two Iowa-class battleships. In2011 Iowa was donated to the Los Angeles–based non-profit Pacific BattleshipCenter and was permanently moved to Berth 87 at the Port of Los Angeles in2012, where she was opened to the public as the USS Iowa Museum. (Wikipedia)

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Uss Iowa (BB 61) steaming into Pearl Harbor with rails manned, 28 October 1952, while en route to the U.S. following her first Korean War deployment.

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A starboard beam view of the battleship USS Iowa (BB 61) underway during sea trials, 15 March 1984.

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A high angle port beam view of the battleship USS Iowa (BB 61) underway off the coast of Virginia, 22 Aug 1985.

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A starboard bow view of the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) at anchor off the coast of Saint Thomas State, Virgin Islands, 10 Feb 1987.

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Crew members man the rails aboard the battleship USS New Jersey (BB 62), at Naval Air Station North Island, California, 8 January 1985.

USS New Jersey (BB-62) is an Iowa-classbattleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named afterthe U.S. state of New Jersey. She was often referred to fondly as "BigJ". New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the otherthree completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship used toprovide gunfire support during the Vietnam War.

During the Second World War, New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa,and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. Duringthe Korean War, she was involved in raids along the North Korean coast, afterwhich she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, betterknown as the "mothball fleet". She was briefly reactivated in 1968and sent to Vietnam to support US troops before returning to the mothball fleetin 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program,New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War.

New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991 after having served atotal of 21 years in the active fleet. During her career she earned a Navy UnitCommendation for service in Vietnam, and 19 battle and campaign stars forcombat operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, theLebanese Civil War, and service in the Persian Gulf. After a brief retention inthe mothball fleet, she was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, NewJersey, and has served as a museum ship there since 15 October 2001.(Wikipedia)

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U.S. Navy battlehip USS New Jersey (BB-62) and the French battleship Richelieu at anchor on 7 September 1943.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) fires a nine 40.6 cm (16 in) gun salvo during bombardment operations against enemy targets in Korea, adjacent to the 38th parallel, on 10 November 1951.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) fires a nine gun salvo of 40.6 cm into a target Kaesong, Korea on 1 January 1953.

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USS New Jersey (BB-62) shown during operations in the waters off Korea on 12 April 1953.

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Recommissioned for Vietnam, the USS New Jersey (BB-62) was little modified. She is shown here off Oahu, Hawaii, 11 September 1968. Although she appears festooned with radio antennas, in fact her communication suit was extremely austure. It symbolized a key problem of the reserve fleet. Communication equipment changes relativley rapidly. Ships otherwise quite usable may be entirely unable to communicate with more modern craft unless they are given entirely new radio systems. The other major modification was for self defense: an early version of SHORTSTOP, a combination jammer and chaff-launcher. The ULQ-6B jammer was located in the box atop her foremast, its antennas projecting out on both sides. When the New Jersey was refitted again in 1981-82, the box was retained as a base for a new SLQ-32 system. It was not particularly conveient, and the other refitted battleships have a more streamlined ECM housing. The New Jersey had been laid up with her 40mm mounts in place. All were removed when she was recommissioned, but the foreward gun tubs (on the 01 level), painted white, were used by the crew as swimming pools. Note that the ship retained her old (and quite obsolescent) SPS-12 air-search radar. 11 Sep 1968.

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Aerial bow view of the Iowa-Class Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) firing its nine 16-inch/50 caliber guns simultaneously, 30 Dec 1986.

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The moving of the Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) via tugboats down the Delaware River from Camden to Paulsboro, New Jersey, for maintenance, 21 March 2024.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) during battle practice in Chesapeake Bay on 1 August 1944. She is wearing Camouflage Measure 32 Design 22D.

USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-classbattleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940s and is a museumship. Completed in 1944, she is the last battleship commissioned by the UnitedStates. The ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, whereshe participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled theJapanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of theEmpire of Japan at the end of World War II.

After the Second World War, the Missouri served in various diplomatic, show of force andtraining missions. In 1950, the ship ran aground during high tide in ChesapeakeBay and after great effort was re-floated several weeks later. She later foughtin the Korean War during two tours between 1950 and 1953. Missouri was thefirst American battleship to arrive in Korean waters and served as the flagshipfor several admirals. The battleship took part in numerous shore bombardmentoperations and also served in a screening role for aircraft carriers. Missouriwas decommissioned in 1955 and transferred to the reserve fleet (also known asthe "Mothball Fleet").

Missouri was reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navyplan. Cruise missile and anti-ship missile launchers were added along withupdated electronics. The ship served in the Persian Gulf escorting oil tankersduring threats from Iran, often while keeping her fire-control systems trainedon land-based Iranian missile launchers. She served in Operation Desert Stormin 1991 including providing fire support.

Missouri was again decommissioned in 1992, but remained on the Naval VesselRegister until her name was struck in 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USSMissouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (Wikipedia)

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USS Missouri (BB-63), 26 Oct 1944.

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USS Missouri (BB-63). Photographed while on her shakedown cruise, August 1944.

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USS Missouri (BB-63). Arriving at the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with President Harry S. Truman and his party on board, 19 September 1947. She is manning the rails in his honor. USS Itara (YTB-391) is pushing on the battleship's port bow.

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A 16-inch salvo from the USS Missouri at Chong Jin, Korea, in effort to cut Northern Korean communications. Chong Jin is only 39 miles from the border of China. 21 October 1950.

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The U.S. Military Sealift Command oiler USNS Kawishiwi (T-AO-146), center, replenishing the U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) and the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) on 25 July 1986.

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USS Missouri (BB 63) begins its 2-mile journey back to Ford Island after being undocked by hundreds of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers, 7 Jan 2010.

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USS Wisconsin (BB-64), 20 January 1952.

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-classbattleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940s and is currentlya museum ship. Completed in 1944, the ship was assigned to the Pacific Theaterduring World War II, where she participated in the Philippines campaign and theBattles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The battleship shelled the Japanese homeislands shortly before the end of the war in September 1945. During the KoreanWar, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and SouthKorean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. She wasreactivated in 1986; after a modernization program, she participated inOperation Desert Storm in January – February 1991.

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USS Wisconsin (BB-64) tied up outboard of the hulk of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 11 November 1944. Note: anti-torpedo netting outboard of the ships. There is a great difference in lengths of these two battleships.

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USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in center and USS Oriskany CA-34 in unknown port on 27 October 1953.

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USS Wisconsin (BB-64) underway at sea, circa 1988-1991.
Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991 after spending a total of14 years in active service. In that time, the ship earned six battle stars forservice in the Second World War and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendationfor service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War. Wisconsin was strickenfrom the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, and was later donated forpermanent use as a museum ship. As of 2025, Wisconsin is a museum ship operatedby Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia. (Wikipedia)

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USS Wisconsin (BB-64) underway with other warships in the western Pacific Ocean, cDecember 1944 - August 1945.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), the heavy cruiser USS Saint Paul (CA-73) and the destroyer USS Buck (DD-761) steaming in close formation during operations off the Korean coast on 22 February 1952.

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